Wavelength division multiplexing in lightwave systems appears to be the most effective multiplexing means for addressing the increasingly higher bandwidth requirements of telecommunication systems. These lightwave systems rely on the availability of lightwave sources, such as lasers, to produce signals at the various wavelengths. Tunable sources are the most attractive for this application especially when their tuning range is broad enough to cover a majority of bandwidths in the lightwave system. Most tunable sources are designed in a self-contained unit having an automatic feedback control to tune and stabilize the operating wavelength of the source to a desired wavelength. Differences may occur between the operating wavelength of the installed sources and supported wavelength of the system infrastructure. These differences may hamper and even seriously degrade system performance. In such lightwave systems, there is no simple mechanism for coordinating the wavelengths of system elements to be the same. More specifically, there is no simple and cost-effective means for aligning the operating wavelength of a source with the actual wavelength expected by the lightwave system.